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Tabuu

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Tabuu
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SubspaceSymbol.svg
A boss in The Subspace Emissary
Universe Subspace

Tabuu (タブー, Tabuu) is the leader of the Subspace Army, the main antagonist and final boss of Super Smash Bros. Brawl's Adventure Mode: The Subspace Emissary. He is a powerful, supernatural entity who embodies the dimension of Subspace and rules it as a god. He uses the Subspace Bombs to send entire locations to his dimension, where he absorbs their power to increase his own, pursuing his plan to conquer and subjugate the universe. His name is a corruption of the word taboo, referring to something that is forbidden.

Aside from his appearance in Brawl, Tabuu appears in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a spirit.

Role in The Subspace Emissary

Close-up of Tabuu in The Subspace Emissary.

Tabuu is the true embodiment of Subspace. His plan was to cut World of Trophies into pieces and take them to Subspace for his world. However, he himself cannot leave Subspace, which is why he created the Subspace Army to act in his stead. Tabuu took over the Isle of the Ancients, the home of the R.O.B.s, and forced them to serve him under the threat of annihilation. Tabuu first discovered that Mr. Game & Watch had Shadow Bugs in him and captured him to harness the power, and thus the Subspace Army was born. Tabuu studied and took control of the master of the World of Trophies, Master Hand, binding him with chains of light. Tabuu used Master Hand to enlist the help of Ganondorf, Bowser and Wario. These three were sent to hunt down any fighters that would stand in the way of Tabuu's plans, while remaining unaware of Tabuu's existence. However, King Dedede learned the truth about Tabuu and began interfering with his plans.[1]

Later in the story, after the heroes destroy the Subspace Gunship and enter Subspace, Ganondorf betrays Bowser by using a Dark Cannon. Ganondorf then goes to greet Master Hand. Ganondorf then realizes that Tabuu was actually controlling Master Hand, and that he was not actually following Master Hand's orders but was being tricked by Tabuu. Enraged, he charges a futile attack at Tabuu who effortlessly knocks him back. Ganondorf's body hits the puppeteered Master Hand, thus breaking him free of his chains of light (and turning Ganondorf into a trophy in the process). Master Hand also charges at Tabuu, but to no avail. With Master Hand lying motionless on the ground, Tabuu uses his Off Waves to turn everyone into trophies as soon as they approach.

The chains of light on Master Hand.

However, thanks to the Dedede Brooches, two trophies who had been left behind - Luigi and Ness - were later revived, and they proceed to revive King Dedede himself after Ness realised that it was thanks to him that they were restored. King Dedede joins their team and they rescue everyone else by collecting their trophies in Subspace (Part I), including Bowser, who had a fight with Dedede, and joined the team because Tabuu is so powerful, and he killed Master Hand. Around the same time, Kirby was revived by the brooch the captured princess had when he swallowed it and went out to save the rest of the fighters in Subspace Part II, between the characters, there are Wario, and Link and Zelda, who revive Ganondorf, and suggest him to join them, he accepts, because he can not do anything to Tabuu, Wario does the same, because King Dedede, Luigi and Ness pointed him where are going everyone, so all the characters enter to the adventure. Tabuu then creates a maze out of the worlds that have been consumed by Subspace and brings back the old enemies. He also creates dark clones of all of the heroes to slow them down. Once the player reaches Tabuu, he attempts to turn everyone back into trophies again, but is ambushed by Sonic the Hedgehog, who shatters his wings with a Spin Dash before he can do so. As a result, Tabuu's Off Waves are weakened, becoming "only" a one-hit KO attack instead of causing immediate trophification for any Smasher in reach.

A selection of characters from Sonic, Bowser, Kirby, Luigi's group and those revived by these two groups (first: Luigi, Ness and King Dedede; second: Kirby), then fight Tabuu, until he is defeated. After his defeat, the Subspace Army is gone, lands are restored, and the Isle of the Ancients disappears afterward because of the effect of so many Subspace Bombs going off at once (commanded by Ganondorf so Tabuu could get a Subspace Gunship into the World) making it impossible for the Isle to escape Subspace. A glowing X is left behind.

Tabuu's true fate is unknown - he is last seen contorting in pain shortly before the Great Maze was restored to its original places and forms - though it is likely he was destroyed.

Attacks

As the final boss of The Subspace Emissary, Tabuu possesses a wide variety of dangerous attacks, which increase in power and speed on higher difficulties. Nearly all of his moves are guaranteed OHKOs at least on Intense difficulty (14 out of 16 or 88%). Additionally, Tabuu's attacks are faster and stronger in The Subspace Emissary than in Boss Battles at comparable difficulty ratings - as usual. Notice that his moves' knockback in Boss Battles is usually the same of the previous difficulty in the Subspace Emissary, thus KOing at about the same percentual of that difficulty, while damage can be severely reduced. The gap is wider on the lower difficulties (Easy overall) than on the highest ones (Intense in particular).

Tabuu's attacks are considered to be extremely powerful but predictable. Even on Easy difficulty in Boss Battles, almost all his moves will KO middleweights not over 70% (usually below), and some will even OHKO if properly executed (with the exception of Eye Lasers, which KOs below 110%). However, dodging most of his attacks can be very easy if the player knows what is coming; this doesn't apply to Off Waves, which are very hard to avoid, cover the entire screen and are also the strongest move ever. Without the Off Waves, many people consider Tabuu to be an easy boss due to his predictable moves and how he needs to wait until he can attack again, although some OHKO attacks are very difficult to prevent or avoid (such as Golden Bracket, Ghost Projection and Explosive Teleport).

Some of Tabuu's moves share a unique property: they could potentially OHKO the same players twice in a row, on the proper difficulty, if they are hit at the beginning and then immediately after they respawn. These moves include: Shuriken Boomerang, Ghost Projection, Electrical Shield and Explosive Teleport. Off Waves are usually too fast to fulfill the required conditions but, if the players intentionally jump into the third ring, they can suffer a second OHKO. Notice that all the listed attacks require a very strict timing to OHKO twice in a row, and are not guaranteed to do so.

Note that the attack names are not official, except for Off Waves and the Chain of Light, whose names were announced on the Dojo.

Random

  • Teleport - Tabuu teleports around the stage and appears at a set spawn which is randomly decided from the large amount of spawns available. He can spawn at different heights, up to around three quarters of Tabuu's Residence's height. This move can be randomly used once or multiple times in a row (up to five). He also sometimes teleports behind the character and attacks with one of the available attacks. Tabuu makes a distinctive sound on his final teleport.
  • Explosive Teleport - Tabuu teleports around, leaving a red explosion everywhere he teleports from. Touching the burst deals perfectly vertical knockback, with enormous KO potential and high damage (up to 45% on Intense). It is a guaranteed one-hit KO on Very Hard to Intense difficulty in the Subspace Emissary, and on Intense in Boss Battles. Since it KOs at very low percentages even on average difficulties, the player must not be too eager to attack Tabuu during his teleports and must always pay attention before attacking him. Crouching or simply staing still is the best way to avoid every hit, since this move cannot harm grounded players. Due to being extremely unpredictable and powerful, this attack is usually considered one of the most dangerous of Tabuu's moveset. The only weakness is that the bursts last for a brief time and have a very small hitbox but, since they can appear at different heights, attention must always be payed. Notice that this Teleport is always used five times in a row, and that the final teleport lacks the usual distinctive sound.

Moveset

Though not playable, Tabuu is controllable by hacking the game in Boss Battles Mode. After hacking the game, the controller used must be a GameCube Controller and must be plugged into the player 3 slot. The start button will cause him to self-destruct, as it does for all other bosses.

Move Name Description
A Shark blade Tabuu turns into a shark shape and flies across the stage.
A^ Eye lasers Tabuu shoots lasers from his eyes.
Av Diving slash Tabuu swoops down onto the stage holding a blade.
A< Rapid chop Tabuu rapidly slashes the air with karate chops.
A> Electric shield Electricity swirls around Tabuu in multiple rings.
B Pinpoint explosion Tabuu points and causes multiple explosions.
B^ Bullet rain Tabuu shoots a chain of bullets, followed by a huge fireball.
Bv Shuriken boomerang Tabuu throws a boomerang.
B< Dragon laser Tabuu summons a dark dragon that shoots a huge, azure horizontal laser across the stage.
B> Ghost projection Tabuu shoots multiple projections of himself. The amount of projections is not always the same.
X Off Waves Tabuu opens his wings and blasts three red rings outward from the background. It is always a one-hit KO.
L Chain of Light Tabuu uses his chain. If he grabs the player with it, he will slam them into the ground. If two players are playing, he will slam the caught player into the other player.
R Golden brackets Tabuu turns into golden brackets. If he grabs the player, he will slam them into the ground.
Unusable move 1 Explosion teleports Tabuu teleports and explosions suddenly occur wherever he teleports.
Unusable move 2 Teleport Tabuu teleports around the stage.

Moveset gallery

HP and damage taken

HP Values Lowest difficulty Below-middle difficulty Middle difficulty Above-middle difficulty Highest difficulty
The Great Maze 335 455 535 635 745
Boss Battles 111 160 212.5 265 405
  EffectIcon(Normal).png EffectIcon(Slash).png EffectIcon(Electric).png EffectIcon(Freezing).png EffectIcon(Flame).png The icon for the grass effect. EffectIcon(Water).png EffectIcon(Darkness).png EffectIcon(Aura).png Specials: Direct Specials: Indirect
Damage taken ×1.0 ×1.0 ×1.0 ×1.0 ×1.0 ×1.0 ×1.0 ×1.0 ×1.0 ×1.0 ×1.0

Like all bosses in Brawl, Tabuu gains an additional ×0.6 damage resistance modifier when fought in co-op mode, effectively gaining 67% more health. This modifier is applied whenever the second player is in-game, and is no longer applied if the second player loses all his stocks. In Boss Battles Mode, the same change is applied without any difference, but now if the second player loses his only stock, it is a Game Over for both players. Notice that the health gap between the Subspace Emissary and Boss Battles Mode is higher on lower difficulties (around two thirds on Easy) than on the higher ones (around 40% on Intense).

Trophies

Tabuu's main trophy is unlocked by using a Trophy Stand on Tabuu. Ways of doing this include:

  • Dodging Tabuu's attacks, waiting until he teleports and throwing the stand.
  • Throwing the stand when he is using "static" moves like Electrical Shield, Rapid Chop, Ghost Projection and Bullet Rain.
  • Notice that Winged Tabuu (the form he takes to unleash Off Waves) can never take damage and, thus, can't be turned into a trophy.

The Tabuu (Wings) trophy is obtained by beating Boss Battles Mode with all characters, and can't be unlocked with a hammer, except for the PAL version. In the original japanese version and several translation, this trophy is called Winged Tabuu instead.

Tabuu

The Tabuu trophy in Brawl.

Tabuu
The ruler of Subspace and master of operations. Tabuu controls Master Hand with chains of light to excise this world and build up his great maze. He used Shadow Bugs to form Subspace and manipulates the servants of Master Hand to his heart's content. Born in a vastly foreign realm, he also possesses great leadership powers. Tabuu...No name is more suitable.

Wii: Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Tabuu (Wings)

Tabuu with wings trophy in Brawl.

Tabuu (Wings)
Tabuu with wings extended. The dreadful energy surges cast from these wings instantly turn all fighters back into trophies. Knowing this, King Dedede assembles all able-bodied troops and sets a timed device on each of them. This device is a brooch that, after the designated time runs out, revives all fighters wiped out by Tabuu.

Wii: Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Spirit

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Tabuu appears as a spirit in Adventure Mode: World of Light. Presumably, he is one of countless spirits captured by Galeem during his takeover of the universe. Afterward, Dharkon takes control of Galeem's spirits, including Tabuu.

Tabuu is located in the Mysterious Dimension as the penultimate battle before Marx. Prior to his battle, the player is quizzed on which spirit is the creator of the Subspace Army. During his Spirit Battle, Tabuu uses a Metal Bayonetta puppet fighter, and the player's fighter is occasionally inflicted with sudden damage.

No. Image Name Type Class Slot Ability Series
1,100
Tabuu Spirit.png
Tabuu
Neutral
★★★★ 3 PSI Attack ↑ Super Smash Bros. Series

Glitches

At least three glitches can occur during the battle against Tabuu:

  • Tabuu Whip glitch happens when the player air techs or dodges into his Chain of Light. If properly done, he will get stuck beneath Tabuu's legs and be unable to free himself until Tabuu KOs the character. Being under the effects of a Metal Box, Super Mushroom or a strong flinch resistance sticker attacked will also cause this glitch; it could potentially occur on Easy difficulty in Boss Battles but it's very unlikely. A variation of the glitch can be performed in co-op mode by having one character land the final blow on Tabuu while the other is caught by the Chain of Light. Doing this, Tabuu will be defeated without releasing the character from his grab, resulting in that character being frozen in a tumbling pose in the center of the stage while Tabuu falls away, and disappearing at the same time the boss does if a loose explosive does not knock them out.
  • Another glitch can occur in the Subspace Emissary if Tabuu is hit by a Green Shell while performing Ghost Projection. The Shell will remain stuck and completely nullify Tabuu's move, instantly destroying every Projection he shoots until the attack ends. The glitch finishes when Tabuu teleports away.
  • A third glitch can occur if the character defeats Tabuu when he's using Eye Lasers. When the battle shows him flying off into the Subspace background, in pain, his head will be covered in the same red light that shot out from his eyes.

Two of these glitches are shown in the apposite "External links" section.

Trivia

  • Tabuu on Intense Difficulty in the Subspace Emissary has more OHKOs than any other boss or enemy in any of the Smash games: even 14, beating Galleom's and Rayquaza's 8 and Duon's 9, as well as Master Hand's - Crazy Hand's 7 + 3 in Brawl. They are reduced to 12 in Boss Battles.
    • Only two of Tabuu’s moves out of 16 (12%) are not OHKOs on Intense: Teleport (which doesn’t inflict damage) and Eye Lasers (KOing well below 50%).
    • In the Classic Mode of the same game (on Intense difficulty only), combined Master Hand and a Crazy Hand have access to even 17 potential OHKOs, although some of them need most hits to connect for an OHKO.
    • Some of his moves have the unique power to OHKO the same player twice in a row.
  • Although his wings have been injured and broken into shards by Sonic, Tabuu's Off Waves on Intense are still the most powerful move in every Smash game for both knockback and damage (up to 200%), along with the Ultimate Chimera's bite in Brawl itself.
    • Rapid Chop and Bullet Rain are also one of the most damaging moves in absolute, being able to inflict from roughly 300% to nearly 400%, only surpassed by multiple Floows’ lament on Intense difficulty, Bucculus' kiss and Lugia’s Aeroblast.
  • Some of Tabuu's attacks are similar to those of other bosses; his Eye Laser is similar to Master and Crazy Hand's Finger Laser and his teleportation resembles the abilities of final bosses in the Kirby series, such as Nightmare and Marx. Additionally, Tabuu's Off Waves are somewhat similar to the animation of Giygas's Inexplicable Attack from EarthBound.
  • The dragon head summoned during the "Dragon Laser" attack resembles a Dark Cannon. Its attack is also somewhat like Marx's mouth laser.
  • Tabuu is the only boss in Brawl to lack an official artwork.
  • Off Waves is the only attack to become slower when the game is played in co-op in the Subspace Emissary (but, strangely, not in Boss Battles), most likely due to their ability to affect the whole stage, and they being very difficult to avoid.
  • Via the use of strong stickers and items, it is possible to take relatively little knockback from the Off Waves on Easy difficulty, allowing Tabuu to hit the player more than once with the move (in this case, the second hit is always a KO). However, it is also possible to be hit twice on Easy difficulty in Boss Battles, as long as the offstage player is hit by the sourspot at very low or no damage.
    • On Hard or higher difficulties, even a Super Mushroom or a Metal Box will not protect the player from being OHKOed by this immensely powerful attack.
  • In Super Smash Bros. 4, if the final transformation of Master Core isn't defeated after 45 seconds, it will begin to spin rapidly and rise to the center of the screen, then charge up and unleash five red waves. These waves work similarly to Tabuu's Off Waves and will one-hit KO the player if they make contact, but only on 8.0 or higher difficulty. Also their knockback and damage are severely weaker, despite being able to one-hit KO most or all characters regardless.
  • In the Mysterious Dimension of World of Light, Tabuu's spirit guards Marx's boss fight. This references how Marx and Tabuu share several attacks, such as their tendency to rapidly teleport and fire laser beams.

External links

See also

References